Application of nanoclay on polyester fabrics as a bio-inspired approach to improve moisture management

Abstract

Bio-inspired and biomimetic surface modifications are identified as one of the fascinating areas of research. In this study, nature’s way of cooling elephants’ body temperature using mud bathing was mimicked to create moisture management in polyester fabric. For that, bentonite nanoclay (BNC) was covalently grafted on polyester fabric using (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) as a coupling agent. The novel modification method was proved qualitatively and quantitatively using characterization techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Xray fluorescence (XRF) and Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). Moisture management tests, and physical and mechanical properties of modified polyester fabric were used to analyse the accomplishment of the modification. Hydroxyl groups on edges of BNC played a vital role in grafting with APTES. Primary amine group in APTES reacted with ester groups in polyester fibres, while silanols reacted with BNC. XRD analysis confirmed grafting of APTES on the surface of BNC without intercalation. XPS and FTIR spectroscopies confirmed the new secondary amide bond formation, while surface morphology was observed from SEM images. The significant enhancement in wettability, absorptive capacity, drying rate and wicking length proved moisture management property of polyester fabric. This fabric coating strongly withstood more than 10 cycles of laundry and against 5000 abrasion cycles. Physical and mechanical properties of modified fabrics remained unchanged, while tensile strength and elongation showed a slight improvement due to fibre preserving aminolysis reaction between APTES and ester groups in polyester fabrics. It is expected that this bio-inspired BNC modified polyester fabric may break the barrier of using polyester in various hydrophilic textile applications.